Manual toothbrush with movable head

ABSTRACT

A manual toothbrush including a handle that reciprocates into and out of a channel within a head of the toothbrush. The head includes a plurality of fixed first bristles and a first movable base that has a plurality of second bristles extending outwardly therefrom. A first end of the handle is non-releasably connected to the first movable base within the channel in the head. The first movable base is mounted for arcuate movement in response to the reciprocation of the handle when the first and second bristles frictionally engage the teeth of the user.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a Continuation Application of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/592,908, filed Nov. 3, 2006, the entire specification of which isincorporated herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Technical Field

This invention generally relates to oral implements. More particularly,the invention relates to a toothbrush. Specifically, the inventionrelates to a manual toothbrush having a handle that reciprocates withina channel formed in the head of the toothbrush and thereby causesarcuate movement of some of the bristles on the toothbrush head.

2. Background Information

Many people brush their teeth with a manually operated toothbrush. Thesebrushes are ideally used by positioning the bristles at a 45-degreeangle to the gum line and applying a reciprocating back and forth motionto cause the tips of the bristles to move over the surfaces of theteeth. This motion causes the bristle tips to travel across the surfaceof the teeth in a substantially linear fashion and to remove plaque andparticulate material as they do so.

Many dentists, however, believe that moving the tips of the bristles ina rotary motion over the surface of the teeth is far better for removingplaque and particulate material from the teeth. This may be achieved bymoving the entire toothbrush head in a rotating or oscillating fashionacross the teeth or by rotating or oscillating the bristles.

The prior art includes a number of powered and manual toothbrushes thatincorporate a rotary motion of some or all of their bristles. Forinstance, U.S. Pat. No. 1,557,244, issued to Domingue discloses a manualtoothbrush that has a handle that reciprocates in and out of the head ofthe brush. The interior walls of the handle are provided with a rack,while the head is provided with a number of independently rotatablebrushes, each of which is provided with a toothed pinion. The toothbrushis used by holding the head of the brush stationary with one hand andthen reciprocating the handle back and forth within the head. The rackand pinion mechanism causes the brushes to rotate.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,068,939 to Holland, discloses a manual toothbrushcomprising an integrally formed handle and head. The head is providedwith a plurality of individually rotatable or oscillating bristleclusters. Each cluster of bristles includes a crank mechanism forconnecting the cluster to a rod that extends through the interior of thehead and handle of the toothbrush. The rod is operationally geared to aweight in the handle. As the toothbrush is reciprocated, the weighttravels back and forth within the handle, causing the gears to rotateand thereby causing the rod to reciprocate within the interior of thehandle and head. The reciprocating rod rotates the individual bristleclusters within the head.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,186,627, issued to Amit et al, discloses a manualtoothbrush that has base with a plurality of fixed bristles and onerotatable member that also includes a set of bristles. The base ispositioned over a front portion of the handle and a cover is providedaround the sides of the base and front portion. The front portion of thehandle includes a toothed rack and the lowermost surface of therotatable member includes a pinion. The cover and base are longer thanthe front portion of the handle. Consequently, as the handle is movedback and forth during brushing, the front portion of the handle movesback and forth within the cover and the interlocking rack and pinionforces the rotatable member on the base to rotate.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,274,870 issued to Stollman also discloses a toothbrushhaving an integrally formed head and handle. The head includes a framehaving a cavity therein and in which a carriage travels back and forth.The frame is also provided with a toothed rack. The carriage is providedwith a plurality of bristles thereon, and a number of those bristleshave gears provided at their lower ends. As the carriage slides withinthe frame during brushing, the rack engages the gears causing the gearedbristles to rotate.

Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 5,276,932 issued to Byrd discloses a toothbrushincluding one or more rotatable bristle members that are geared to athumb-actuated member. As the thumb-actuated member is engaged in afirst direction, the rotatable bristles rotate in a first direction.When the thumb-actuated member is engaged in a second direction, therotatable bristles rotate in a second direction.

The devices disclosed in the prior art have a variety of differentmechanisms for causing rotation of some of the bristles in the head. Inevery instance mentioned above, however, the mechanism has required someform of geared interaction between the various components. The gearedmechanisms are reasonably complicated and therefore relatively moreexpensive to manufacture. There is therefore still a need in the art fora manually operable toothbrush that imparts both linear and rotationalmotion to bristles mounted on its head without the use of gears andwhich effectively clears plaque and particulate material from thesurface of the teeth.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The device of the present invention comprises a manual toothbrushincluding a handle that reciprocates into and out of a channel within ahead of the toothbrush. The head includes a plurality of fixed firstbristles and a movable base that includes a plurality of second bristlesextending outwardly therefrom. The movable base is mounted for arcuatemovement relative to the outer surface of the head of the toothbrush. Afirst end of the handle is non-releasably connected to the movable basewithin the channel in the interior of the head. A movement of the handlein a first direction causes the movable base and therefore the secondbristles to move in a first direction. Movement of the handle in theopposite direction causes the movable base and therefore the secondbristles to move in a second direction. The rotational motion of themovable base is caused when the friction generated as the bristles moveover the surface of the teeth is sufficiently large enough to overcomethe internal friction of the moving components within the toothbrushhead. If the internal friction in the toothbrush head is greater thanthe drag or friction experienced by the tips of the bristles, then themovable base will not oscillate or rotate. The total movement of themoving components within the brush head is very limited.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The preferred embodiments of the invention, illustrative of the bestmode in which applicant has contemplated applying the principles, areset forth in the following description and are shown in the drawings andare particularly and distinctly pointed out and set forth in theappended claims.

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of a first embodiment of a toothbrushin accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the toothbrush of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an exploded front perspective view of the toothbrush inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 3A is an enlarged perspective view of the exploded head of thetoothbrush shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 3B is a front view of the movable base;

FIG. 4 is an exploded rear perspective view of the toothbrush inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 4A is an enlarged perspective view of the exploded head of thetoothbrush shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 4B is a rear view of the movable base;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged rear perspective view of the toothbrush;

FIG. 6 is a rear view of the toothbrush with the cover removed with themovable heads in a first position;

FIG. 6B is a front view of the toothbrush with the front cover andbristle assembly removed to more clearly show the positioning of themovable heads relative to the extension of the shaft;

FIG. 7 is a rear view of the toothbrush with the cover removed withheads in a second position; and

FIG. 8 is a front view of a second embodiment of a toothbrush inaccordance with the present invention; and

FIG. 9 is a rear view of the toothbrush of FIG. 8, with the back coverremoved.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to FIGS. 1-5, there is shown a toothbrush in accordance withthe present invention and generally indicated at 10. Toothbrush 10includes a handle 12 and head 14. Head 14 includes a plurality ofbristles 16 thereon for removing plaque and particulate matter from thesurface of the teeth (not shown) of a user. A first plurality of saidbristles 16 are fixed in place on the head and a second plurality ofbristles 16 are arcuately movable as will be hereinafter described.

Handle 12 is ergonomically designed to enable the toothbrush 10 to beeasily held and manipulated. Handle 12 comprises a gripping section 18and a first end that extends outwardly away therefrom. First endcomprises an actuating shaft 20 that is fixed to gripping section 18 andextends outwardly away therefrom. Shaft 20 further includes an extension22 that is both thinner and narrower than shaft 20. Extension 22 is alsofixedly mounted to shaft 20, thus, gripping section 18, shaft 20 andextension 22 all move together as a single unit when toothbrush 10 ismoved back and forth across the teeth. Handle 12 is therefore alongitudinally elongated member that has a longitudinal axis “X” (FIG.1). During use, toothbrush 10 is reciprocated along the longitudinalaxis “X” thereof.

In accordance with one of the specific features of the presentinvention, extension 22 includes two spaced apart pairs of grippingfingers 24, 26 that extend laterally outwardly away from the sides 22 a,22 b of extension 22. The first pair of fingers 24 extends laterallyoutwardly away from the side 22 a of shaft extension 22 in a firstdirection, while the second pair of fingers 26 extends outwardly awayfrom the side 22 b of shaft extension 22 in a second direction (FIG. 4).The two fingers of the first pair of fingers 24 are separated from eachother by a small gap. Similarly, the two fingers of the second pair offingers 26 are also separated from each other by a small gap. Both thefirst pair and second pair of fingers 24, 26 are fixed in position onextension 22, i.e., the fingers are immovable relative to the extension22. Furthermore, the angle between the fingers of each of the first andsecond pair of fingers 24, 26 relative to extension 22 remains constant.That angle preferably is ninety degrees to the longitudinal axis “X” ofhandle 12. The purpose of these fingers 24, 26 will be hereinafterdescribed.

Head 14 of toothbrush 10 is shown in detail in FIGS. 3-5. Head 14preferably is generally spoon-shaped and comprises a back cover 28 and acomplementary shaped front cover 30. Back and front covers 28, 30 aredesigned to snap-fit together or to be otherwise fixedly secured to eachother. Both back and front cover 28, 30 include a rounded end portion 28a, 30 a and a narrower shank portion 28 b, 30 b. Back cover 28 may alsoinclude one or more apertures 32 therein.

Front cover 30 is formed so as to include two spaced apart recesses 34,36 in the inner surface 30 c thereof (FIGS. 4 & 5). Recesses 34, 36 openup in apertures 38, 40, respectively, in outer surface 30 d of frontcover 30. Apertures 38, 40 are smaller than recesses 34, 36. Front cover30 also includes a channel 42 in its inner surface 30 c that extendsfrom the end of shank portion 30 b to recess 34. Channel 42 includes afirst section that is shaped and sized to receive shaft 20 of handle 12therein and a second section that is shaped and sized to receiveextension 22 therein. A shoulder 44 is provided at that portion ofchannel 42 where the first section thereof joins the second sectionthereof. Shoulder limits the travel of shaft 20 therein. Front and backcovers 30, 20, snap fit together around shaft 20 and extension 22. Thedimensions of front and back covers 30, 20, shaft 20 and extension 22are such that shaft 20 and extension 22 can travel within channel 42between a first position (FIG. 1) where the end 46 of head 14 abuts aleading end 48 of gripping section 18; and a second position (FIG. 2)where a gap exists between end 46 of head 14 and leading end 48 ofgripping section 18.

Head 14 further includes a bristle assembly 50 and two movable bases 52,54. Bristle assembly 50 comprises a flexible skirt 56 with a pluralityof bristle tufts 58 extending outwardly away therefrom. These bristles58 constitute the fixed, nonmovable bristles 16 of head 14. The layout,number and relative sizes of said bristles 58 can be of any desiredconfiguration without departing from the spirit of the presentinvention. Skirt 56 is designed to snap fit around outer surface 30 d offront cover 30 and a lip 59 (FIG. 3) that, once passed around theappropriate region of outer surface 30 d, locked between front and backcovers 30, 20 when they are secured together. Skirt 56 could,alternatively be glued to outer surface 30 d. Skirt 56 also includes twoapertures 56 a (FIG. 1) which are shaped and positioned to align withthe apertures 38, 40 in front cover 30. It will be understood that whilethe preferred embodiment of the invention includes a bristle assembly 50that, alternatively, a plurality of bristle tufts may be individuallyadhesively secured into front cover 30 in any designed pattern orconfiguration.

Referring to FIGS. 3A-4B, 6 & 7, head 14 is provided with two movablebases 52, 54 that are designed to arcuately move in response to acombination of the reciprocation of handle 12 and the frictionalengagement of bristles 16 with the surface of the user's teeth. Movablebases 52, 54 are substantially identical. The following descriptiontherefore is made with reference to movable base 52, but it will beunderstood that it applies equally to movable base 54. Movable base 52comprises a generally rectangular member 60 that is formed with anarrower saddle region 62 in the middle of the rectangular member 60 anda pair of rounded outside ends 64, 66. Member 60 includes an interiorsurface 60 a (FIG. 4A) and an exterior surface 60 b (FIG. 3A). Interiorsurface 60 a of member 60 includes pair of spaced apart drive pins 68,70 that extend outwardly away therefrom. Drive pins 68, 70 arepositioned proximate ends 66 and 64, respectively and toward theperipheral outer edge 65 of member 60. Extension 22 extends over therear surface 60 a of member 60 and over the saddle region 62 thereof,and intermediate drive pins 68, 70. In this first embodiment of theinvention, each of the movable bases 52, 54 have a side pivot point anda side drive pin location. In the instance of movable base 52, extension22 is connected to drive pivot 68 and base 52 pivots about drive pin 70.

The exterior surface 60 b of member 60 includes a shaped, and preferablydiamond-shaped, region 72 that extends outwardly away therefrom. Region72 is formed inwardly of the outer edge 65 of member 60. A plurality offixed bristles or bristle tufts 74 extend outwardly away from region 72.The number, size and configuration of bristles 74 can be of any suitabledesired design without departing from the spirit of the presentinvention. Region 72 at least partially abuts that portion of the wallof front cover 30 that surrounds and defines apertures 38, 40. Thearcuate travel of mounting bases 52, 54 is at least partially guided bythe interaction between region 72 and the edges 39, 41 (FIG. 3A) offront cover 30 surrounding apertures 38, 40.

In accordance with one of the features of the present invention, member60 is sized to be received within recess 34 of front cover 30, but asshown in FIG. 6 the recess 34 is larger than member 60 and,consequently, member 60 can be moved within recess 34, as hereinafterdescribed. At the same time, the hole 38 in front cover 30 is smallerthan exterior surface 60 b of member 60, but larger than region 72 onmember 60. Thus, movable base 52 is inserted into recess 34 so thatregion 72 and bristles 74 project outwardly away from front surface 30 dof front cover 30 and exterior surface 60 b of base 52 abuts theinterior surface 30 c of front cover 30. Similarly, movable base 54 isinserted into recess 36 and a similar region 72 a and bristles 74 aproject outwardly away from front surface 30 d of front cover 30.

Referring to FIGS. 6 & 7, toothbrush 10 is assembled and used asfollows. Bristle assembly 50 is placed over front surface 30 d of frontcover 30. Movable bases 52, 54 are inserted into recesses 34, 36 so thatbristles 74 and 74 a extend outwardly through holes 38, 40 and away fromfront surface 30 d of front cover 30. Handle 12 is then connected intothe inner surface 30c of front cover 30 by placing extension 22 andshaft 20 into channel 42. Fingers 24 engage and lock around drive pin 68on movable base 54 and fingers 26 engage and lock around drive pin 70 onmovable base 52. Obviously, it would also be possible that fingers 24could engage and lock around drive pin 70 on movable base 52 and fingers26 engage and lock around drive pin 62 on movable back 54, instead. Oncefingers 24 and 26 are engaged with the respective drive pins 70, 68,they do not release the drive pins 70, 68, but rather stay substantiallypermanently connected thereto. FIGS. 6 & 7 show that extension 22extends over the middle of each of the movable bases 52, 54 as opposedto being positioned alongside one of side edges 65 thereof. Back cover28 is then snap fitted over inner surface 30 c of front cover 30,thereby securing back and front covers 28, 30 together and securingbristle assembly 50 in place. Toothbrush 10 is now ready for use.

Toothbrush 10 is positioned in the mouth of the use so that the tips ofbristles 74 and 58 engage the surface of the teeth, preferably at 45degrees to the gum line. The brush 10 may start out in the firstposition shown in FIG. 6 and then be reciprocated into the secondposition shown in FIG. 7, and then back to the first position again, orvice versa. In the first position, the end 46 of head 14 is in abuttingcontact with the leading end 48 of handle 12. It should be noted thatwhen brush 10 is in this first position, leading end 20 a of shaft 20 isspaced a distance away from shoulder 44 of front cover 30 and leadingend 22 a of extension 22 is a spaced distance away from end 42 a ofchannel 42. It should also be noted that the orientation of movable base52 within recess 34 is opposite to the orientation of movable base 54 inrecess 36, i.e., the end 66 a of movable base 52 lies closer to the tip80 of toothbrush 10 than does the end 64 a thereof; while the end 66 bof movable base 54 lies further from tip 80 than does the end 64 bthereof.

When handle 12 of toothbrush 10 is pulled in the direction of arrow “A”(FIG. 6), friction between the tips of bristles 74 and 58 and thesurface of the teeth tends to want to keep the bristles 74 and 58substantially stationary. At the same time, the shaft 20 and extension22 want to move in the direction of arrow “A” with gripping section 18of handle 12. When the movement of the shaft 20 and extension 22overcomes the friction between the bristles 58 and the teeth, thenmovable bases 52, 54 are forced to rotate within recessed 38, 40 in thedirection indicated by arrows “B” and “C”, respectively. This occursbecause fingers 26, 24 are non-releasably engaged with drive pins 70, 68and the fingers 26, 24 are being pulled in the direction of arrow “A” byextension 22. The rotation of movable bases 52, 54 causes bristles 74,74 a to rotate relative to outer surface 30 d of front cover 30 and toinscribe an arc across the surface of the teeth of the user. At the sametime, fixed bristles 58 move linearly across the surface of the teeth inthe direction of arrow “A”.

When handle 12 is pulled in the direction of arrow “A” and head 14initially remains essentially stationary, a gap opens up between end 46of head 14 and leading end 48 of handle 12. This gap is illustrated at82 in FIG. 7. It will also be noted that the distance between shoulder44 and leading end 20 a of shaft 20 increases, as does the distancebetween leading end 22 a of extension 22 and end 42 a of channel 42.

The handle 12 of toothbrush 10 is then pushed in the opposite directionas indicated by arrow “D” (FIG. 7). Because the tips of bristles 74 and58 are in contact with the surface of the teeth, friction between thetips and the surface causes head 14 to substantially remain in placewhile handle 12 slides inwardly along channel 42 and into head 14. Thisinward movement causes drive pin 68 on movable base 54 to be movedcloser to tip 80, thus causing a rotation “E” in movable base 54. Theinward movement also causes drive pin 70 on movable base 52 to movecloser to tip 80, thereby causing a rotation “F” in movable base 52.Furthermore, leading end 20 a of shaft 20 moves into abutting contactwith shoulder 44 and leading end 22 a of extension 22 moves intoabutting contact with end 42 a of channel 42. The rotation of movablebases 52, 54 causes the tips of bristles 74 to inscribe an arc acrossthe surface of the teeth. At the same time, the tips of bristles 58travel linearly across the surface of the teeth in the direction ofarrow “D”.

Thus, as the handle 12 is moved reciprocally back and forth along thelongitudinal axis “X” of toothbrush 10 between direction “A” and “D”,the movable bases 52 and 54 and therefore the bristles 74 extendingoutwardly therefrom are caused to oscillate reciprocally between theposition shown in FIG. 6 and the position shown in FIG. 7. At the sametime, the bristles 58 are moving in a linear fashion across the teethparallel to the longitudinal axis “X” of the toothbrush 10.

Toothbrush 10 therefore includes a first plurality of fixed bristlesthat move reciprocally across the teeth in a linear fashion and a secondplurality of bristles that are moved reciprocally across the teeth in anarcuate fashion. The arcuate motion of the second plurality of bristlesis caused by the reciprocal motion of the handle in conjunction with thefriction of the tips of the bristles on the surface of the teeth.

FIGS. 8 & 9, show a second embodiment of a toothbrush in accordance withthe present invention and generally indicated at 110. Toothbrush 110includes substantially all of the same features as toothbrush 10 withthe exception that the movable bases 152 and 154 are substantiallycircular in shape. Movable bases 152, 154 are received within circularrecesses 134, 136 in front cover 130. The fingers 124,126 on extension122 are non-releasably engaged with drive pins 168, 170. Drive pins 168,170 are positioned proximate the peripheral outer edge 190, 192 ofmovable bases 152,154. Movable bases 152, 154 are caused to move in asubstantially circular motion around a central pivot point by shaft 120and extension 122 as handle 112 is reciprocated back and forth along thelongitudinal axis “Y” of toothbrush 110. Movable bases 152 and 154therefore effectively have a center pivot in that they rotate withinrecesses 134, 136, but have a side drive pin 168, 170. The effectivedifference between the two embodiments is that, with the same inputmovement of the handle 12 or 112, the circularly shaped movable bases152, 154 will experience more arcuate or circular movement than do therectangular movable bases 52 and 54 of toothbrush 10.

While the above disclosure has shown two movable bases 52, 54 that movearcuately in opposite directions to each other during reciprocation ofthe handle, it will be understood that the first and second pairs ofgripping fingers 24, 26 could be provided a spaced distance apart on thesame side of the extension 22. This would cause the two movable bases52, 54 to rotate or oscillate in the same direction as each other.

In the foregoing description, certain terms have been used for brevity,clearness, and understanding. No unnecessary limitations are to beimplied therefrom beyond the requirement of the prior art because suchterms are used for descriptive purposes and are intended to be broadlyconstrued.

Moreover, the description and illustration of the invention are anexample and the invention is not limited to the exact details shown ordescribed.

1. A manual toothbrush comprising: an elongated handle having a grippingend; a first end remote from said gripping end and a longitudinal axisrunning through the gripping end and first end; a head having an outerwall and an internal channel into which the first end of the handle isslidingly received, said first end of the handle being adapted toreciprocate into and out of said channel during a brushing motion; afirst aperture defined in said outer wall; a plurality of first bristlesextending outwardly away from the outer wall of the head, a firstmovable base disposed in the channel and being at least partiallycomplementary shaped to the first aperture; a first pivot pin extendingoutwardly from said first movable base and into the channel; said pivotpin engaging the first end of the handle; and wherein said first movablebase pivots about the first pivot pin in response to the reciprocalmotion of the handle; and a plurality of second bristles mounted on thefirst movable base and extending outwardly away therefrom and outwardlythrough the first aperture in the head; and wherein said plurality ofsecond bristles move relative to the first bristles in response to thereciprocal motion of the handle.
 2. The manual toothbrush as defined inclaim 1, wherein a region of the outer wall defines a peripheral edge ofthe aperture and that peripheral edge is arcuately shaped.
 3. The manualtoothbrush as defined in claim 1, wherein at least a portion of saidfirst movable base is housed within the through-aperture.
 4. The manualtoothbrush as defined in claim 3, further comprising: a second aperturedefined in the outer wall of the head and a spaced distance from thefirst aperture; a second movable base disposed in the channel and beingat least partially complementary shaped to the second aperture; a secondpivot pin extending outwardly from said second movable base and into thechannel; said second pivot pin engaging the first end of the handle; andwherein said second movable base pivots about the second pivot pin inresponse to the reciprocal motion of the handle; and a plurality ofthird bristles mounted on the second movable base and extendingoutwardly away therefrom and outwardly through the second aperture inthe head; and wherein said plurality of third bristles move relative tothe first bristles in response to the reciprocal motion of the handle.5. The manual toothbrush as defined in claim 4, wherein the secondmovable base pivots in the opposite direction to the first movable base.6. The manual toothbrush as defined in claim 1, wherein the headcomprises: a front cover; a back cover that is complementary shaped tothe front cover and is securable thereto; said front cover and backcover defining the internal channel of the head therebetween and whereinthe said outer wall of the head constitutes a portion of the frontcover.
 7. A manual toothbrush comprising: a longitudinally elongatedhandle that has a gripping end; a first end and a longitudinal axisrunning through the gripping end and first end; a first pair of grippingfingers extending outwardly away from said first end of the handle; ahead having an outer wall and an internal channel into which the firstend of the handle is slidingly received; said first end of the handlebeing adapted to reciprocate into and out of said channel during thebrushing motion; a curved aperture defined through said outer wall andinto said internal channel; a plurality of first bristles fixedlymounted to the outer wall of the head and extending outwardly awaytherefrom; a first movable base mounted within the head; said firstmovable base having an interior surface that extends into the channel; afirst drive pin extending outwardly away from the interior surface ofthe first movable base and into the channel; said first drive pin beingnon-releasably captured by the first pair of gripping fingers; wherebythe first movable base is arcuately movable relative to the outer wallof the head in response to reciprocation of the handle during brushing;and a plurality of second bristles mounted on an exterior surface of thefirst movable base and extending through the aperture and outwardly awayfrom the outer wall of the head; whereby the arcuate movement of thefirst movable base during brushing causes the second bristles to movearcuately relative to the outer wall of the head.
 8. The manualtoothbrush as defined in claim 7, wherein the gripping end and first endof the handle are unitary.
 9. The manual toothbrush as defined in claim8, wherein the gripping end of the handle terminates in a leading end;and wherein the first end of the handle originates at the leading end ofthe gripping end.
 10. The manual toothbrush as defined in claim 7,wherein the first pair of gripping fingers are immovable relative to thefirst end of the handle.
 11. The manual toothbrush as defined in claim7, wherein the first pair of gripping fingers extends outwardly at anangle from a first side edge of the first end of the handle; and thatangle remains constant during reciprocation of the handle.
 12. Themanual toothbrush as defined in claim 11, wherein the angle of thegripping fingers relative to the first side edge of first end of thehandle is ninety degrees.
 13. The manual toothbrush as defined in claim7, further comprising: a second pair of gripping fingers extendingoutwardly away from said first end of the handle and a spaced distanceaway from the first pair of gripping fingers; a second movable baserotatably mounted on the head; said second movable base having aninterior surface that extends into the channel; a second drive pinextending outwardly away from the interior surface of the second movablebase and into the channel; said second drive pin being non-releasablycaptured by the second pair of gripping fingers; whereby the secondmovable base is arcuately movable relative to the outer wall of the headin response to reciprocation of the handle during brushing; a secondplurality of second bristles mounted on an exterior surface of thesecond movable base and extending outwardly away from the outer wall ofthe head; whereby the arcuate movement of the second movable base duringbrushing causes the second plurality of second bristles to movearcuately relative to the outer wall of the head.
 14. The manualtoothbrush as defined in claim 13, wherein the second pair of grippingfingers extend outwardly away from a second side edge of the first endof the handle and at a fixed angle thereto; whereby the first and secondmovable bases oscillate in opposite directions to each other uponreciprocation of the handle during brushing.